If you want to read an anthology of speculative fiction testing the boundaries, I recommend Transcendent.

I ripped out one of the stories and tossed it in the trash, because it was written by a fandom bully who hounded hesychasm, among many others. hesychasm has written about them here. But genuinely enjoyed the rest, some of them tremendously. (I'm still thinking of Red, and Joash, and the time-travellers.)

Hi, everyone! I'm not sure if you've had the chance to catch the first (and only) broadcast episode of the latest series Star Trek Discovery on CBS last night or through Netflix outside of the US, but I thought it'd be a good idea to have a post in this community about it for those who want to discuss it.

My own thoughts are pretty mixed. I'm not much of a fan of the JJ Abrams look myself, and the cinematography was, um, confusing at times with all the dutch angles and cuts. That being said, I'm interested in how the series will portray the Klingons, as they seem to be more inspired by series like Game of Thrones in their look and feel this time around, and I have high hopes for the lead actresses. I'm very wary about the lead's connection to Sarek, Spock's father, and how that will play out.

Please make sure that you label your posts appropriately for spoilers. A good rule of thumb would be something like this: SPOILERS EPISODE 1 or SPOILERS EPISODES 1 & 2 before the main body of your comment.

You may or may not be aware we had elections in Germany yesterday. The results weren't very surprising (if you've been following news and polls), but nonetheless shocking, because Nazis in German parliament for the first time in over 70 years should be. (Let me qualify the technicalities: of course we had original flavour Nazis in the very first post war parliament, it being 1949. We even had a rather prominent one, the original commentator of the Nuremberg "race laws", in Adenauer's cabinet. And there were right wing extremist parties since then who didn't pretend very hard to be anything else. But none of them reached 13%, which the right wing extremists du jour, the AFD, just did.) In practical terms: this means 80-something MPs drilled in verbal abuse and little else entering parliament as of next year. At least they won't be the official opposition, since the SPD, which had its historic worst result in the entire post war history with 20 something %, ended the governing Big Coalition last night. (This is actually a good thing and was direly necessary to save the party, imo. It governed in coalition with Merkel's conservatives for two out of three terms Angela Merkel has been chancellor, and while this wasn't the only reason for its steady loss of votes, it was a big one.) How the "Jamaica" coalition (so called because of the colors associated with the parties in question - black for the CDU/CSU, the conversative union, yellow for the FDP, the business-oriented liberal party, which will return to parliament after having been voted out four years ago, and green for the Greens, obviously) will work out is anyone's guess, but it's the best of currently available alternatives. And since the AFD does have a lot of inner fighting between its heads going on and hasn't yet managed to actually do something constructive in any of the provincial parliaments they were already in, they might destroy themselves over the next four years, as the 80s flavor of right wing extremists did (they were called Republicans, I kid you not). None of that changes me feeling thoroughly disgusted this morning at 13% of our electorate, and angry with a lot of other people as well.

Here are two articles from two of our leading papers translated into English which analyze the election and its results:

Tears won't change a thing (from the Süddeutsche, in which Heribert Prantl says that we're the recovering alcoholic of nations, which is why it's differently serious when part of our electorate falls off the wagon to get drunk on demagogery, racism and authoritarianism again)

The Panic Orchestra, which also analyses the role the media played (because just as with Trump, the bloody AFD seemed to be on tv all the time)

On the bright(er) side of things, there were spontanous anti AFD marches on the street in Berlin and Cologne last night, and they were soundly defeated as also rans in Munich. (Which is a relief on a personal level, since I live there, and also because of history.)

Speaking of Munich, to conclude on a distracting and cheerier note, the Süddeutsche also hosts an US journalist who last week penned this column:

No time to watch yet, wedding and work, plus my father in town, but I just purchased an annual CBS "All Access" subscription so I can immerse myself in Star Trek: Discovery for the next few weeks, and in The Good Fight come 2018.

I really wish the television model were different, though. Not because of the money; I purchase shows on iTunes consistently (Wynonna Earp, Killjoys, Orphan Black, iZombie). But I worry that the no-network model of CBS here means the opposite of its name: less access to smart, well-written, diverse, and feminist shows for normal people who aren't able to drop yet more money on a limited slice of entertainment, good as it may be.

Friday night, L and I went out for dinner for her birthday to a newish place in the neighborhood, and it was so nice. Expensive, but really nice. Burrata stuffed ravioli with roasted grape tomatoes! Steak frites! Moscato! And I had this delicious Café liégeois for dessert.

Yesterday, I started watching s1 of Wynonna Earp, as recommended by some of you, and I'm enjoying it so far, though it is also making me miss the first two seasons of Supernatural, or more accurately, Dean Winchester. This show is sisters fighting demons, and while writing-wise it's about the same level as SPN (though nothing quite sticks in my head like, "We were raised like warriors, Dean!" there have been a couple of moments where something happens, and then the rest of the episode acts like it didn't happen? And I don't mean lingering plot threads for later. I mean, like, the writers forgot what just happened previously?), but it has a lot fewer dead ladies so far ( spoiler )

The special effects are kind of 90s syndication terrible, but I don't mind that much. I don't even mind the love triangle that much, because Wynonna is just going to do what she wants, instead of being torn between the two choices, both of whom are interesting int heir own ways (though I personally would choose Dolls, despite whatever secrets he's been keeping; at least you know he didn't sleep with your great-great-grandfather).

I guess I'll finish season 1 tonight, and then see if I can track down where season 2 is streaming. (as an aside, I started watching this because Killjoys - also recommended by many of you - is still not on Netflix. Why?)

Now I have a terrible headache, which is not being helped by the Giants being terrible. Sigh. At least hockey starts soon?

eta: I guess I shouldn't complain too much - the Giants have just stormed back with 3 TDs in the 4th to take the lead.

For two bisexuals, my wife and I sure tick a lot of the lesbian boxes*. The one thing I regret about yesterday's wedding celebration up in Tilden Park, on a golden fall Saturday in Berkeley, is that we didn't get to pin a note to our little board with the photos and such, to remind people of Bi Visibility Day.

* A love for cats, hardware stores, tea,...

I'll post photos when they come in -- my former work wife took some GREAT ones, obviously already posted with acerbic commentary to social media. Ah. I miss her snark. My wife's sister-in-law, one of them, took photos with a nice DSLR, and I got a few shots in.

(I have hundreds of icons, but this is the singular one of two queer women together and alive by the end of canon -- skins' Naomi and Emily.)

…Next week will probably be better? I moved a week ago today, and came down with a cold a few days after that, so this has not been a week conducive to doing… much of anything. (Except playing Stardew Valley. So much Stardew Valley.) But I am alive! And I did write more than zero words this week! And I am trying to get back into familiar routines, so here we are.

Born in the Blood: 223, and I have nearly! made! an important! transition! almost! maybe!

Slavefic #6: 203, and Threetoo! is thinking! some thoughts! about! something! I think I remember what I figured out about this literally a month ago! probably!

Kinktober fic for Day 1 (Bucky/Steve): 391, and I have remembered that the key to writing genuinely short PWP for me is “start with both characters in bed and at least one of them naked” so good job me.